Breaking: After winning bronze in 200m, COVID-positive Noah Lyles leaves the stadium in a wheelchair. See more…

American left slumped at side of the track after defeat by Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo

Breaking: After winning bronze in 200m, COVID-positive Noah Lyles leaves the stadium in a wheelchair. See more…

Noah Lyles left the Stade de France on a wheelchair after revealing that he had Covid following his failed attempt to emulate Usain Bolt’s 100m-200m Olympic sprint double.

The American, who had won the 100m by just 0.005sec on Sunday, entered the stadium by leaping up and down and cupping his ear to the fans but was left slumped at the side of the track after an emphatic defeat by Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo.

It was suggested that Lyles had been ill in the build-up and, while he did still emulate his bronze medal of 2021 by running 19.70sec, something was clearly wrong.

Michael Johnson, former Olympic 400m record holder, questioned the 27 year old’s decision to compete. Speaking to the BBC, he said: “Very bizarre. Covid is still a dangerous disease. Kenny Bednarek is a member of the 4x100m relay. It’s just bizarre. The whole thing is really weird.”

He added: “There’s going to be all the Noah haters out there who say it’s not real and he’s faking it or whatever. Putting that aside, having Covid and still being out here in close proximity with other people – I know there’s probably not a policy at these Games for that but morally I’m not sure about it.”

Johnson earlier cast doubts on the athlete’s condition as he said: “He certainly isn’t carrying an injury because you can’t do this with an injury, you can’t run 19.70s.

“If there’s anything, there’s some sort of illness that has zapped his energy from the ability to actually carry that speed all the way through. [The medics] would’ve given him the OK to race, he’s probably not in danger of anything by racing other than being 100 percent and able to perform the way that he would want to.”